A Warrior's Thougts on the Martial Arts

This year's camp was a blast. It always is, but this time surpassed everything we had up until this point. It'll be pretty hard to come up with something even better next year.

I admit it - I'm something of a nerd. Actually, I might be the blueprint of a nerd... I do not play Pokemon Go, however. Why would I? Let's face it - I'm already busy doing one of the best things for nerds to do. So what's the big idea behind Pokemon? To be honest, I've never played it, but here's my limited understanding of the whole thing: So apparently, you collect creatures, train them in combat so they learn new skills (?), reach higher levels and at some point, eventually, you're going PVP and actually challenge other people. Sounds fun, it really does. Here's the thing, though. I'm already doing all of that. I'm constantly training my favourite Pokemon  (myself) for higher combat strength. New skills, better stats, ... by doing so, I'm also gaining levels in the form of belt ranks.  At this point, I'm a level 50 striker  (holding a black belt in Shinergy and all) and just took a cross-class level up as a grappler (i. e., I'

If you've been following my stuff for some time, you might know that I'm using the Kettlebell a lot. This weekend, I finally took my official perform better certified Kettlebell trainer course (and exam) with dr Till Sukopp. Those were intense two days, tightly packed with information on how to teach KB drills and lay out training programs. I definitely picked up a couple pointers on cueing and coaching. Also, I learned some new training ideas. If you're one of my students, chances are you'll encounter that stuff soon enough. So long , don't get hurt

Shinergy is an ever-evolving art. So are our training methods. "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" doesn't really apply. There's always a way of doing things in a better way. Of course, you also have to spend some time on things in order to be able to actually evaluate them. So, after evaluating our warmup routine for quite some time now, here are some tweaks to help make it even better - People usually mess up the bent over t-spine mobilisation due to insufficient hip mobility. Instead of keeping the spine neutral, they'd go into flexion. Spinal flexion plus rotation, over the long term, is no good. Hence, a better place to do this stuff is right after our three - way lunge, with one shin on the ground (i. e. ,  with a fixed pelvis and lumbar spine ). This is a pose many know from yoga. Also, when stretching the hamstrings from this position in a subsequent exercise, it's so easy to introduce an additional dorsal flexion at the ankle and reap the add

"If you really want to become a great fighter, you absolutely must take the time to develop your skills and improve your strength, speed, power, endurance, etc. This means taking fewer fights, not more." - Ultimate MMA Conditioning, Joel Jamieson

After finishing Dan John's 10,000 swing challenge last Tuesday and then taking a day off, I did my first Starting Strength session today. This program, created by Mark Rippetoe and described in detail in his seminal book - which is, incidentally, called Starting Strength - makes a nice general purpose plan for the off - season. Basically, you'd do three sets of five on the following exercises: Session A: Squat Press Deadlift (1 x 5) Session B: Squat Bench Press Power Clean (5 x 3) The days are alternated in an ABA BAB fashion. That means you're training three days per week. In the first week, you're doing session A twice and session B twice. In the next week, it's the other way around. Starting Strength is - at least in the beginning - a linear progression model, so basically weights are increased from day to day. Needless to say, that isn't something you can sustain indefinitely. Hence, I've decided to do a six week block and then decide on what

"Champions fail more than beginners try" -- Tom Furman [SM160403] Reference: [SM160403] https://www.realstrengthmatters.com/smp-74-art-war/

DISCLAIMER: This is published quite some time after the actual events. I'll explain my reasons for holding this one back in the post. 2016-03-31 : Just went through my first 10,000 swing workout. A couple days ago, I finished reading Dan John's Book "Can you go"[DJ2015] and now I'm into "Before we go". Most of that stuff I already read at some point, mostly on [T-Nation] or similar sites. So really, there wasn't anything really new in the book, Still, for some reason I've decided to give the 10,000 swing challenge a shot. You see, my life is rather turbulent at the moment, to say the least. I won't be going into any detail here (as Pavel Tsatsouline pointed out, oversharing is a dysfunction of our society [TF2015]), but suffice to say that I'm having a rough time in many areas of my life. The good thing is, that as I've pointed out in the disclaimer, I'll publish this a long time (~5 Weeks) from now, so things might be better

My student Anna fought in the NMAC state championships in Schwanenstadt last Saturday and took Gold! I can't say how proud I am of her. Anna competed in both pointfighting (aka Semi Contact) and light contact. While she lost the former by one point, I think it's safe to say that the latter was won without any doubt. Judge for yourself. Semi Contact Light Contact #1 Light Contact #2 Our next stop is the Tatami Open in Mai, so stay tuned. Also, as soon as I get my hands on the videos of our other fighters, I'll upload them here as well. So long, don't get hurt

For a good finish, here's Hanna's fights from the International Polish Taekwondo Championships 2016 in Wieliczka. Hanna scored third place in Semi-Contact, winning two out of her three fights via TKO. Enjoy! Semi #1 Semi #2 Semi #3 Light #1 Now, as soon as I can get my hands on the fights of this year's NMAC state championships, I'll upload them ASAP, so watch out for more. So long, don't get hurt

Here we go with Valentin's performance at the International Polish Taekwondo Championships 2016 in Wieliczka. Valentin was fighting a marathon that day - 6 fights for a total of 12 rounds! Five of those fights where in the pointfighting (i.e., semi-contact) division, where Valentin lost in the semi-finals and then slightly missed 3rd place. Still, having five fights and going without a medal ain't a shame - it's just a sign of the high level of participation in the event. As you'll notice, I screwed up with the title in the first video. Well, guess I'm a better at training fighters than I am at editing videos...  Enjoy anyways. Semi Contact #1 Semi Contact #1 (2nd Camera) Semi Contact #2 Semi Contact #3 Semi Contact #4 (Semi Finals)   Semi Contact #5 (Fight for 3rd place) Light Contact #1  Light Contact #1 (2nd Camera) One more fighter to go - I'll upload Hanna's fights ASAP and finally have the w

Anna just won the NMAC state championships in light contact kickboxing! I'm so proud of her. She also took 3rd place in the state championships in semi-contact kickboxing. Congratulations, keep going!   Overall, the Shinergy Supreme Team did great, as usually. 5 Gold-, 17 Silver- and 4 Bronze medals ain't bad for a small team, huh?    Next, we'll be competeing in the Tatami Open in Mai, so you can await some more precious medal soon. So long, don't get hurt

I'll be hosting a couple of events in the near future. For a good beginning,  professional MMA fighter and BJJ purple belt Michelle Rirsch will be teaching a three hour workshop on MMA strategies such as the transition between standup fighting / striking and ground fighting / grappling sweeps and escapes on the ground selected submissions The event takes place on Sunday, Mai 15th at my Dojo. Participation costs €25,- , which in my opinion is a bargain. There's still some free spots, but they sell by the minute, so now might be your best time to ring me up or write me a mail if you wish to participate. Of course, there'll be photos on the blog after the event so you know what you missed. So long,  Don't get hurt

'ere we go - Enjoy Manuel's performance at the international polish taekwondo championships on March 13th 2016 in Wieliczka, Poland. #1, Semi-Contact: #2, Light Contact: #3, Light Contact: #4, Light Contact: Next uploads due soon, so stay tuned. So long, don't get hurt

So I'll try and quote great stuff when I hear it. Today's quote is from Nia Shanks ( http://thefitcast.com/podcast/TheFitCast261.mp3 ): "Train because you love your body, not because you hate it" Perfect. Now go train. So long, Don't get hurt

So here's Mareike's fights from the  international polish taekwondo championships on March 13th 2016 in Wieliczka, Poland. Mareike had one pointfighting match and two light-contact bouts, the first of which she won by TKO in the first round. Enjoy! Semi Contact #1 Light Contact #1 Light Contact #2 Next up is Manuel, who had four really exciting fights, so stay tuned. So long, don't get hurt

My good friend and student Anna has started a blog on training. Check it out at wiederanders.blogspot.co.at. Looking forward to reading some good stuff. So long, Don't get hurt

The title isn't wrong - actually, we have two girls by the name of Anna in the team. So again (but then again, not...), here's Anna's fights from the  international polish taekwondo championships on March 13th 2016 in Wieliczka, Poland. I'll be posting videos as soon as I manage to edit and upload them, so stay tuned. So long, don't get hurt

This time Im faster than last time. Below is Anna W's fight at the international polish taekwondo championships on March 13th 2016 in Wieliczka, Poland.   I'll be uploading the other fights one after the other (there's 22 of them), so stay tuned.  So long, Don't get hurt

Ok, I guess that if you've been following my blog lately, you know what's going to happen now. This is Mareike's fights from our trip to the [TaekwonDo Open Polish Cup last year] . Enjoy! This was Mareike's Semi-Contact fight: Now here we go with light contact: I guess I've uploaded all fights now (might be wrong, though, so I'll check again). Next, I'll collect, edit and upload all the stuff we filmed at the [International Polish TaekwonDo Championships in Wieliczka] this month. Bear with me, that'll take me some time. Make sure to check in often, though, as there's always new content. So long, don't get hurt

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail  -Benjamin Franklin Everybody has a plan 'till they get punched in the mouth -Mike Tyson The above cites nicely illustrate a dilemma when it comes to S&C training (and Probably just about anything in life, but I'll try and stay on-topic here): On the one hand, you simply need a plan. Not having one will inevitably result in chaos.in the best case, your progress will stall. In the worst case, you get hurt. That's why there's a plethora of books on proper periodization and exercise programing.  On the other hand, nobody operates in lab conditions. Factors like sleep, nutrition, stress at work and concurrent sport specific training need to be taken into consideration. Trying to PR int he deadlift  the day after a hard sparring session or an spontaneous party night isn't a good idea. Now there's always an argument to be made here that while the latter case (the party) can be attributed to a weak wi

Ronny and I are onto something big right now. Can't spoil anything ATM, but I'll have a meeting tonight and we should be good to start in the beginning of April. Details soon, so stay tuned. So long, Don't get hurt

Just like [Anna] , Anton had four fights in Opole, three semi-contact fights and one light-contact fight. Here we go: Here we go with Anton's first fight: The win in the first fight took Anton to the semi-finals: After losing in the semi-finals, Anton fought for the bronze medal: As mentioned, after the semi-contact fights, there was a light contact bout as well: I'll be uploading Mareike's fights next, so stay tuned. So long, don't get hurt

Before I start uploading [the most recent] fights, I'll finish the series on the Opole Open last november. This time, here's Anna's fights. Here goes Anna's first Semi-Contact Fight: After the first fight, Anna advanced to the Semi-Finals: Having lost the Semi-Finals, Anna went on to fight for bronze: After the three Semi-Contact Fights, Anna entered the Light-Contact event, here we go: Considering the fact that this was only her second tournament, I'd say Anna did great. I'm definitely waiting for things to come here. Next, I'll be convering Anton's fights. So long, don't get hurt

Just returned from the open polish taekwondo championships in Wieliczka. In a nutshell : Manuel took gold in the flying high kick, silver in semi - contact and silver in light contact.   Hanna took bronze in both semi-contact and light contact.   Anna took bronze in light contact.   Valentin was the marathon fighter of the day, going through a whopping six fights (5 semi contact, 1 light contact). Despite that high number of fights, he didn't score a medal. This should make the level and sheer amount of competition obvious.  Everyone did their best and improved greatly since our trip to Opole last November and I'm damn proud of every single one of them. More to come, so stay tuned.  So long, Don't get hurt

As mentioned in an [earlier post] , I'll be posting video footage of our trip to Opole last year. Took me a while, but hey, better late than never, right? After watching [Valentin's fights] , now it's time for Manuel. Note that I won't be analysing anything here - I'll cover that in a later post, when I have time. For now, it's just the video footage. Manuel didn't do any semi-contact fighting, instead focusing on the light-contact side of things. Enjoy! Here we go with Manuel's first fight: And here's the finals: Next I'll be posting Anna's fights, so get ready for some lightweight-action! So long, don't get hurt

As mentioned in an [earlier post] , I'll be posting video footage of our [trip to Opole] last year. Took me a while, but hey, better late than never, right? After going through [Chris' fights] , here's Valentin. Note that I won't be analysing anything here - I'll cover that in a later post, when I have time. For now, it's just the video footage. The only thing I will add here is that this was Valentin's debut in tournament fighting. Considering that and the fact that his opponent in the light contact bout is the vice-world-champion, I think Valentin did pretty well. Here's Valentin's first fight of that day, under Semi-Contact rules: And here we go with his light contact fight: Next up: Manuel. Watch out. So long, don't get hurt

Today, I got a gem for you. Well, maybe it's more of a raw diamond, as it's still in beta stage, but still, today you might take away something. This is an idea that came to my head after quite a couple of ends met. I won't pretend that I had any revelation on that one, so first, I'd like to summarize of of the sources and inspirations that led me to come up with this one. In [this] episode of the [Industrial Strength Podcast] Joe DeFranco said something along the lines of "the one thing you have to know about hypertrophy training is that variety is key". He also went on to talk about how muscles don't have emotions, so the term "muscle confusion" isn't all that smart, but still, the workout you get most swole from is the one you never did before. That's part of the secret behind beginner gains and the whole "everything works for about six weeks" thing. Still, it's imperative to have a plan and a structure to training. Y

As mentioned in an [earlier post] , I'll be posting video footage of our [trip to Opole] last year. Took me a while, but hey, better late than never, right? After going through [Hanna's fights] , here's Chris. Note that I won't be analysing anything here - I'll cover that in a later post, when I have time. For now, it's just the video footage. Here's Chris' first fight of that day. Winning that fight took Chris to the Semi-Finals. Finally, the third fight was for bronze: Next, I'll be posting Valentin's fights, so stay tuned. So long, don't get hurt

As mentioned in an [earlier post] , I'll be posting video footage of our [trip to Opole] last year. Took me a while, but hey, better late than never, right? Since Hanna had the most fights out of all our fighters, I'll start with her. Note that I won't be analysing anything here - I'll cover that in a later post, when I have time. For now, it's just the video footage. The first Semi-Contact fight was over relatively fast, with the technical KO (10 point difference) coming down just two or three seconds into the second round. Here goes Semi-Contact #2: After winning that fight, Hanna went on to the Semi-Finals: The fourth fight was the finals: Finally, Hanna did a light contact fight - after all those fights, there unfortunately wasn't all that much gas left in the tank. So much for Hanna's fights, next up will be Chris, so stay tuned. So long, don't get hurt

I've just arrived in Linz, where I'll be teaching a class on sports science at the [SPORTUNION]s assistant instructor course. 6 hours of progression models,  periodization, training methods and skill acquisition principles ahead of me. Good times.

'tis last Saturdays sparring session. Enjoy! Until next time, don't get hurt

Just had my first grappling session since I ruptured my tendon. Had to quit after three rounds of sparing, but still - I'm back! Tomorrow I'll participate in some light kickboxing sparring again. Good times ahead!

So over the next couple days I'll post the videos of our fights at the Opole Open 2015. I have to say, the [PUT] people really did a good job on organising the event, and while international participation was a bit lower than usual, the level of competition was awesome. What I like most is the non-dogmatic approach these guys take. Most schools offer both Taekwondo and Kickboxing, some also do other styles such as MMA or even Krav Maga. As long as they adhere to the rules, everyone's welcome to fight. Contrast this with the rivalry and bad blood that dominates the martial arts world here in Austria. For example, I've once witnessed all participants of the [WKF] being barred from entrance to the [OEBFK] national championships due to inter-federation rivalry. Needless to say, the level of competition suffers from stuff like that. Now you could argue that the situation in Poland is different in that there's no competing federations from the same style involved.

Here we go - some footage of yesterday's sparring session. I have to say, everyone did me mighty proud. I won't go into a lot of detail here, but truly, everybody either performed at their best or accomplished something they've never done before (e.g., score with clean bodyshots in the short distance, stop an advancing sparring partner with a rear straight, or scoring with a high kick). Best of all, [Andy] is back in training! Even after his long break, the boy still knows his game. He's still exhibiting some phenomenal reactions and head movement. Some things never change... Well, without any further ado, enjoy the show! Our next stop is going to be the international polish championships in Wieliczka, on March 12th and 13th. After yesterday's sparring, I'm convinced we'll do at least as good as [last time], most likely even better. As always, I'll keep you up to date. So long, don't get hurt Music: The Four Seasons (Vivaldi) ( John H

So this is 2016. For me, the year started with opening two new weekly classes in the [Seestadt Aspern], a new "city in the city" on the border of Vienna. So far, the start went pretty smooth - after three classes, I can record an average of around 14 students in the adult classes. Now I'm really more of a small-group teacher (classes in [my Dojo] usually run closer to 6 students per class), so overlooking a larger group is kind of unfamiliar. Thankfully, around half of the people in the class are my advanced students, who are more than able to guide beginners through the session and offer valuable pointers and advice. Hence, quality doesn't suffer. Overall, I'm totally convinced that the hard core of advanced students and the gym culture they live is more important to the learning rate of beginners than the instructor's work. Of course, it's down to the instructor to build up that core of advanced students and establish the desired gym culture, but at so